People Ops Excellence Manager

About the Role

We are hiring a People Ops Excellence Manager to strengthen and scale our People Operations foundation. This role is about building operational reliability: clean processes, strong systems usage, high data quality, and a smooth employee experience across the full lifecycle.

You will work closely with People, Finance, IT, and business leaders to continuously improve how we operate. As part of this role, you will also support payroll cycles by ensuring that inputs and changes are accurate and delivered on time to our external payroll partners.

Your Mission

Build a scalable People Operations engine that is consistent, compliant, and trusted by employees and leaders.

What You’ll Own

People Ops Excellence

• Own and improve core People Ops processes end-to-end (onboarding, employee changes, off-boarding, documentation, approvals)

• Build scalable standards across workflows, templates, and operational handoffs

• Create clarity through SOPs, checklists, and internal enablement material

• Drive continuous improvement through issue spotting, root cause analysis, and process fixes

Systems & Data Quality

• Improve how we use HR systems by strengthening workflows, permissions, templates, and adoption

• Own data quality standards so our People records are accurate, auditable, and reporting-ready

• Reduce manual work through smarter operational design and automation where possible

• Ensure process consistency across locations while staying pragmatic and compliant

Payroll Support (in partnership with external providers)

• Coordinate and validate payroll inputs for Germany and the US, working closely with PEOs and external payroll partners (changes, allowances, terminations, variable pay)

• France payroll exposure or experience in another European country is a plus

• Ensure deadlines and cutoffs are met and inputs are clean before handover

• Support troubleshooting when questions arise during payroll cycles

Occupational Safety Coordination (Germany)

• Coordinate core occupational safety (H&S) processes in Germany in partnership with internal stakeholders and external providers

• Support required trainings, documentation, and follow-ups (e.g., safety onboarding, medical checks where applicable)

• Ensure our operational cadence is audit-ready and executed reliably

Stakeholder & Partner Collaboration

• Be a trusted operational partner to Finance, IT, and People colleagues

• Drive clarity across responsibilities, timelines, and dependencies

• Communicate structured, calmly, and with high ownership

How You’ll Measure Impact

• Core People Ops processes run consistently end-to-end (onboarding, changes, offboarding), with clear ownership and minimal exceptions

• HR systems are used with discipline (clean workflows, permissions, templates) so execution becomes simpler, not more complex

• Data quality is reliable and audit-ready, especially for payroll-relevant fields and employee lifecycle changes

• Payroll handovers (Germany + US via PEOs/partners) are predictable and clean, with accurate inputs, on-time delivery, and fewer corrections

• Occupational safety coordination in Germany runs without gaps, with required documentation, follow-ups, and stakeholder alignment in place

What We’re Looking For

Required Qualifications

• Minimum of 5 years of experience in People Operations, ideally in a scaling environment, with proven track record building scalable processes, improving system adoption, and raising data quality

• You’ve owned ambiguity and turned it into repeatable operating standards

• Strong process mindset and love for operational quality

• Experience working with HR systems and improving how teams run workflows through tools

• Confidence working with data and maintaining high standards of accuracy

• Strong stakeholder management and clear communication

• Willingness to work onsite in Darmstadt 3 to 4 days per week

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience supporting payroll preparation processes (Germany and or US)

• Exposure to France or Italy employment administration

• Experience in international, technical, or high-growth environments

Working Model

This role is based in Darmstadt with a hybrid setup. Given the operational nature of the role, 3 days per week onsite are required.

Focused Energy is an equal opportunity employer committed to creating an inclusive environment. Qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender perception or identity, national origin, age, marital status, protected veteran status, or disability status.

Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, Focused Energy will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.

Compensation offered will be determined by factors such as location, level, job-related knowledge, skills, and experience. Certain roles may be eligible for incentive compensation, equity, benefits.